U.S. patent number 10,268,238 [Application Number 16/003,938] was granted by the patent office on 2019-04-23 for foldable display neutral axis management with thin, high modulus layers.
This patent grant is currently assigned to GOOGLE LLC. The grantee listed for this patent is GOOGLE LLC. Invention is credited to William Riis Hamburgen, Kiarash Vakhshouri.
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United States Patent |
10,268,238 |
Hamburgen , et al. |
April 23, 2019 |
Foldable display neutral axis management with thin, high modulus
layers
Abstract
A foldable display of a computing device includes a back
stiffening layer, a transparent frontplate layer, a transparent
cover window layer, and an OLED display layer disposed between the
back stiffening layer and the transparent frontplate layer. The
OLED display layer characterized by a Young's modulus that is lower
than the Young's modulus of the transparent frontplate layer and
that is lower than the Young's modulus of the back stiffening
layer; a neutral plane of the foldable display is located within
the OLED display layer.
Inventors: |
Hamburgen; William Riis (Palo
Alto, CA), Vakhshouri; Kiarash (San Jose, CA) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
GOOGLE LLC |
Mountain View |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
GOOGLE LLC (Mountain View,
CA)
|
Family
ID: |
62842202 |
Appl.
No.: |
16/003,938 |
Filed: |
June 8, 2018 |
Prior Publication Data
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|
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20180356859 A1 |
Dec 13, 2018 |
|
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
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62517137 |
Jun 8, 2017 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F
1/1616 (20130101); H04M 1/0268 (20130101); G06F
1/1626 (20130101); H01L 51/0097 (20130101); G06F
3/0412 (20130101); H01L 27/323 (20130101); H01L
51/0034 (20130101); G06F 1/1652 (20130101); Y02E
10/549 (20130101); H04M 1/0216 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06F
1/16 (20060101); G06F 3/041 (20060101); H01L
27/32 (20060101); H01L 51/00 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Other References
Invitation to Pay Additional Fees and, Where Applicable, Protest
Fee for International Application No. PCT/US2018/036718, dated Sep.
25, 2018, 14 pages. cited by applicant .
International Search Report and Written Opinion for International
Application No. PCT/US2018/036718, dated Nov. 22, 2018, 19 pages.
cited by applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Lea-Edmonds; Lisa
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Brake Hughes Bellermann LLP
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a Nonprovisional of, and claims priority to,
U.S. Patent Application No. 62/517,137, filed on Jun. 8, 2017,
entitled "FOLDABLE DISPLAY NEUTRAL AXIS MANAGEMENT BY ADDING THIN,
HIGH MODULUS LAYERS", which is incorporated by reference herein in
its entirety.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A foldable display of a computing device, the foldable display
comprising: a back stiffening layer; a transparent frontplate
layer; a transparent cover window layer; and an OLED display layer
disposed between the back stiffening layer and the transparent
frontplate layer, the OLED display layer characterized by a Young's
modulus that is lower than the Young's modulus of the transparent
frontplate layer and that is lower than the Young's modulus of the
back stiffening layer, wherein a neutral plane of the foldable
display is located within the OLED display layer.
2. The foldable display of claim 1, wherein the transparent
frontplate layer includes glass fibers and polymer materials.
3. The foldable display of claim 1, further comprising a touch
layer disposed between the back stiffening layer and the
transparent frontplate layer.
4. The foldable display of claim 3, wherein the OLED display layer
and the touch layer are fabricated as a single layer.
5. The foldable display of claim 4, wherein there are no layers
between the back stiffening layer and the single layer.
6. The foldable display of claim 4, wherein there are no layers
between the transparent frontplate and the single layer.
7. The foldable display of claim 1, wherein the OLED display layer
is configured to be bent repeatedly to a radius of less than 10
mm.
8. The foldable display of claim 1, wherein a neutral plane of the
foldable display is located within a middle 50% of the OLED display
layer.
9. The foldable display of claim 1, wherein a neutral plane of the
foldable display is located within a middle 20% of the OLED display
layer.
10. The foldable display or claim 1, further comprising an
optically clear adhesive layer between the OLED display layer and
the transparent frontplate layer.
11. The foldable display of claim 1, wherein the foldable display
is configured to be folded at a first location in a first direction
and is configured to be folded at a second location in a second
direction that is opposite to the first direction.
12. A computing device comprising: memory configured for storing
executable instructions; a processor configured for executing the
instructions; a foldable display configured for displaying
information in response to the execution of the instructions, the
foldable display including: a back stiffening layer; a transparent
frontplate layer; a transparent cover window layer; and an OLED
display layer disposed between the back stiffening layer and the
transparent frontplate layer, the OLED display layer characterized
by a Young's modulus that is lower than the Young's modulus of the
transparent frontplate layer and that is lower than the Young's
modulus of the back stiffening layer, wherein a neutral plane of
the foldable display is located within the OLED display layer; and
a bend limit layer arranged substantially parallel to the OLED
display layer, the bend limit layer configured to increase its
stiffness non-linearly when a radius of a bend of the bend limit
layer is less than a threshold radius of curvature of the foldable
display, the threshold radius of curvature being greater than 1 mm
and less than 20 mm.
13. The computing device of claim 12, further comprising a coupling
layer disposed between the bend limit layer and the OLED display
layer, the coupling layer having a Young's modulus lower than the
Young's modulus of the OLED display layer.
14. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the bend limit layer
includes a material having a coefficient of thermal expansion
within 50% of the coefficient of thermal expansion of the OLED
display layer.
15. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the bend limit layer
includes a material having a coefficient of thermal expansion
within 25% of the coefficient of thermal expansion of the OLED
display layer.
16. The computing device of claim 12, wherein an overall thickness
of the foldable display is less than one millimeter.
17. The computing device of claim 12, further comprising a touch
layer disposed between the back stiffening layer and the
transparent frontplate layer.
18. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the OLED display
layer and the touch layer are fabricated as a single layer.
19. The computing device of claim 12, wherein a neutral plane of
the foldable display is located within a middle 50% of the OLED
display layer.
20. The computing device of claim 12, wherein a neutral plane of
the foldable display is located within a middle 20% of the OLED
display layer.
21. The computing device of claim 12, further comprising an
optically clear adhesive layer between the OLED display layer and
the transparent frontplate layer.
22. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the foldable display
is configured to be folded at a first location in a first direction
and is configured to be folded at a second location in a second
direction that is opposite to the first direction.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
This description relates to thin foldable displays and, in
particular, to thin film foldable displays in which the neutral
axis of the display is precisely controlled to reduce mechanical
stress on the display.
BACKGROUND
Modern computing devices often attempt to achieve a balance between
portability and functionality. A tension can exist between having a
display that provides for a rich display of information on a single
surface, which suggests a relatively large form factor of the
device to accommodate a relatively large display, and a device that
is small enough to be easily carried and accessed by a user, which
suggests a relatively small form factor of the device.
A potential solution to address this dilemma is to use a foldable
flexible display in the computing device, so that in the display's
folded configuration, the computing device has a relatively small
form factor, and in the display's unfolded configuration, the
computing device can have a relatively large display. To keep the
form factor of the computing device small and slim, it is desirable
to have relatively thin displays. However, folding a relatively
thin display can result in small radius bends at the fold in the
display, which may be detrimental to sensitive components of the
display, for example, thin film transistors (TFTs), organic
light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), thin-film encapsulation (TFE) and
the like. In addition, thin displays can be relatively fragile and
in need of protection against breakage from impacts to the front
surface of the device.
It can be difficult to create foldable top-emitting plastic OLED
displays that have a small folding radius in both directions (i.e.,
having two surfaces of the display fold both towards each other and
away from each other) and that can survive many fold-unfold cycles.
In particular, creating sturdy, durable Z-fold displays (i.e.,
displays with both inward and outward folds) is greatly complicated
by the fragility of the thin-film layers in the display stack.
One approach is to building the stack of layers for a functional
display is to use optically clear adhesive (OCA) to join different
functional layers of the stack. For example, a display stack may
include from the following layers: 1. Backplate layer 2. Adhesive
layer 3. Display layer (including polyimide substrate with barrier,
TFT, OLED, and encapsulation layers) 4. OCA layer 5. Touch
sensitive layer (typically a multi-layer film stack) 6. OCA layer
7. Polarization layer (including a circular polarizer) 8. OCA layer
9. Cover Window (CW) layer (user-facing cover window film)
In some implementations, the polarization layer and the touch
sensitive layer may be reversed, combined or eliminated. A common
development direction involves building touch functionality
directly on top of the display layer. This reduces the thickness of
the stack of the most fragile layers and also simplifies electrical
connection to the touch layer. In such implementations, the stack
may include the following layers: 1. Backplate layer 2. Adhesive
layer 3. Display-Touch layer 4. OCA layer 5. Polarization layer
(including a circular polarizer) 6. OCA layer 7. CW layer
(user-facing cover window film)
In another implementation, the cover window layer and the
polarization layer can be combined, so that the stack includes the
following layers: 1. Backplate layer 2. Adhesive layer 3.
Display-Touch layer 4. OCA layer 5. POL-CW layer
The Display-Touch layer often is manufactured in a very expensive,
highly-automated OLED factory using a highly optimized recipe that
cannot easily be altered to meet customer customer-specific
requirements. The backplate and polarization/cover window layers
may be customer-specific and are typically added in a less
expensive factory setting after the display exits the OLED line.
However, these customer-specific backplate layer and
polarization/cover window layers may cause the neutral plane of the
device to shift away from the display-touch layer, which may be
detrimental to the in-system folding cycle life of the entire
display.
Thus, foldable display devices in which the neutral plane of the
device is in, or close to, the most fragile display layers, are
desirable.
SUMMARY
In one general aspect, a foldable display of a computing device
includes a back stiffening layer, a transparent frontplate layer, a
transparent cover window layer, and an OLED display layer disposed
between the back stiffening layer and the transparent frontplate
layer. The OLED display layer characterized by a Young's modulus
that is lower than the Young's modulus of the transparent
frontplate layer and that is lower than the Young's modulus of the
back stiffening layer; a neutral plane of the foldable display is
located within the OLED display layer.
Implementations can include one or more of the following features,
alone, or in any combination with each other. For example, the
transparent front plate can include glass fibers and polymer
materials. A touch layer can be disposed between the back
stiffening layer and the transparent frontplate layer. The OLED
display layer and the touch layer can be fabricated as a single
layer. There can be no layers between the back stiffening layer and
the single layer. There can be no layers between the transparent
frontplate and the single layer.
The OLED display layer can be configured to be bent repeatedly to a
radius of less than 10 mm. A neutral plane of the foldable display
can be located within a middle 50% of the OLED display layer. A
neutral plane of the foldable display can be located within a
middle 20% of the OLED display layer. An optically clear adhesive
layer can be located between the OLED display layer and the
transparent frontplate layer. The foldable display can be
configured to be folded at a first location in a first direction
and can be configured to be folded at a second location in a second
direction that is opposite to the first direction.
In another general aspect, a computing device can include memory
configured for storing executable instructions, a processor
configured for executing the instructions, and a foldable display
configured for displaying information in response to the execution
of the instructions. The foldable display can include: a back
stiffening layer, a transparent frontplate layer a transparent
cover window layer, and an OLED display layer disposed between the
back stiffening layer and the transparent frontplate layer. The
OLED display layer can be characterized by a Young's modulus that
is lower than the Young's modulus of the transparent frontplate
layer and that is lower than the Young's modulus of the back
stiffening layer, wherein a neutral plane of the foldable display
is located within the OLED display layer. The computing device also
can include a bend limit layer arranged substantially parallel to
the OLED display layer, with the bend limit layer being configured
to increase its stiffness non-linearly when a radius of a bend of
the bend limit layer is less than a threshold radius of curvature
of the foldable display layer, the threshold radius of curvature
being greater than 1 mm and less than 20 mm.
Implementations can include one or more of the following features,
alone, or in any combination with each other. For example, a
coupling layer can be disposed between the bend limit layer and the
OLED display layer, with the coupling layer having a Young's
modulus lower than the Young's modulus of the OLED display layer.
The bend limit layer can include a material having a coefficient of
thermal expansion within 50% of the coefficient of thermal
expansion of the OLED display layer. The bend limit layer can
include a material having a coefficient of thermal expansion within
25% of the coefficient of thermal expansion of the OLED display
layer. An overall thickness of the foldable display is less than
one millimeter.
The computing device can also include a touch layer disposed
between the back stiffening layer and the transparent frontplate
layer. The OLED display layer and the touch layer can be fabricated
as a single layer. A neutral plane of the foldable display can be
located within a middle 50% of the OLED display layer. A neutral
plane of the foldable display is located within a middle 20% of the
OLED display layer. The computing device can include an optically
clear adhesive layer between the OLED display layer and the
transparent frontplate layer. The foldable display can be
configured to be folded at a first location in a first direction
and can be configured to be folded at a second location in a second
direction that is opposite to the first direction.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a computing device that includes a
foldable display with a single inward fold and the foldable display
in a partially folded configuration.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the computing device with a single
inward fold, with the display in a folded configuration.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a flexible display device having a
plurality of bendable sections that are bendable in different
directions.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a flexible display device having a
stack of a number of different layers.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a foldable display having a
bendable section that is bent around a minimum radius,
R.sub.min.
FIG. 6 is a graph showing an example stiffness curve for a foldable
display in which the limit radius is reached when the foldable
display is folded.
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a foldable display having a
bendable section that is bent around a minimum radius,
R.sub.min.
FIG. 8A is a schematic diagram of an example implementation of a
bend limit layer.
FIG. 8B is a top view of a thin film showing a plurality of bonding
sites at which the film is bonded to the base portions of different
adjacent segments.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a plurality of adjacent segments
for use in a bend limit film.
FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a rotating mold that can be used
in an example molding process for forming the adjacent
segments.
FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a mold that can be used for
forming adjacent segments of a bend limit layer.
FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of another implementation of the
foldable display, in which a bend limit layer is coupled to a
display layer.
FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of the foldable display when it is
in a bent configuration.
FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of another implementation of a
display in which a bend limit layer is coupled to a display
layer.
FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of the foldable display when it is
in a bent configuration.
FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of another implementation of a
foldable display in which a bend limit layer is coupled to a
display layer.
FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a foldable display when the
display is in a bent configuration.
FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of another implementation of a
foldable display in which a bend limit layer is coupled to a
display layer.
FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of the foldable display when it is
in a bent configuration.
FIGS. 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D are schematic diagrams of details of the
foldable display of FIGS. 18 and 19.
FIGS. 21A, 21B, 21C, and 21D are schematic diagrams of details of
the foldable display of FIGS. 18 and 19.
FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram of a foldable display having a
bendable section that is bent around a minimum radius,
R.sub.min.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
As described herein, to control the location of the neutral plane
in the final display device, after fabrication of the display-touch
layer, a thin back stiffening layer and a thin transparent
frontplate layer, both having high modulus, can be laminated with
thin bondlines or deposited on either side of the display-touch
layer. By sandwiching the delicate display-touch layers between two
stiff outer layers, the location of the neutral plane can be
stabilized, and subsequent layers that are added on either side can
have less influence on the neutral axis location, thus improving
in-system reliability. In implementations, the back stiffening
layer can be combined with the backplate layer to create a
surface-stiffened backplate layer.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a computing device 100 that
includes a foldable display with a single inward fold and the
foldable display 102 in a partially folded configuration. The
device 100 has the foldable display 102 mounted so that it folds
with the viewable face inward. It is also possible to mount the
foldable display 102 on the opposite side of device 100 so that the
display folds with viewable face outward (not shown). FIG. 2 is a
perspective view of the computing device 100, with the display 102
in a folded configuration. The foldable display 102 may be, for
example, a TFT (Thin-Film-Transistor) OLED (Organic Light Emitting
Diode) display, or other appropriate display technology. The
foldable display 102 may comprise appropriate circuitry for driving
the display to present graphical and other information to a
user.
As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the foldable display 102 can include
a first relatively flat rigid, or-semi-rigid, section 112, a second
flat rigid section 114, and a third bendable section 116. In some
implementations, the foldable display 102 can include more than two
flat rigid sections 112, 114 and more than one bendable section
116. In some implementations, the foldable display 102 can include
zero, or only one, flat rigid section 112, 114. For example, when a
foldable display 102 includes zero flat rigid sections, the display
102 can be continuously bendable, and can be rolled up, as in a
scroll. The foldable display 102 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 has a
bendable section 116 that allows the foldable display to bend about
an axis. In other implementations, the foldable display 102 can
include bendable sections that allow the blade to bend about more
than one axis.
The bendable section 116 of the foldable display 102 allows the
display 102 to bend in an arc that has a radius, and the bendable
section can be made to become rigid when the radius of the bendable
section reaches a specified minimum radius. This minimum radius may
be selected to prevent the display from bending in a radius so
small that fragile components of the display would be broken. In
some implementations, the minimum radius is greater than or equal
to 2.5 millimeters, or greater than or equal to 3.0 millimeters, or
greater than or equal to 5 millimeters. Thus, the bendable section
can be flexible when bent in a radius greater than the minimum
radius and then become rigid when the bend radius is equal to or
smaller than the minimum radius.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a flexible display device 300
having a plurality of bendable sections 304, 306 that are bendable
in different directions. The flexible display device 300 can have a
display surface 302a, 302b, 302c that can take on a "Z" shaped when
the device is folded in its folded, compact configuration, with a
portion of the display surface 302a, 302b folded inward with the
surfaces 302a, 302b facing each other, and a portion of the display
302c folded outward. To assume the "Z" shaped configuration, the
display device 300 can be have a bendable section 304 that is
bendable in a clockwise direction, as shown in FIG. 3, and a
bendable section 306 that is bendable in a counter-clockwise
direction, as shown in FIG. 3.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a flexible display device 400
having a stack of a number of different layers. For example, in
some implementations, a flexible organic light-emitting diode
(OLED) layer 410 can be sandwiched between a back stiffening layer
414 and a transparent frontplate layer 406. The OLED layer 410 can
include, at least, OLED functionality to generate the visual
information displayed by the display device 400. In some
implementations, the OLED layer 410 can also include
touch-sensitive elements to detect a user's touch at particular
locations on the display device 400 and to generate electrical
signals in response to the detected touch, and in some
implementations, a layer (not shown in FIG. 4) separate from the
OLED layer 410 can include the touch-sensitive elements
Furthermore, in some implementations, the OLED layer 410 can
include other functional elements of the display device 400, such
as, for example, TFTs, and encapsulation layer, and anti-reflection
optical elements to reduce glare from the display, but in some
implementations these functional elements can be included in
separate layers from the OLED layer. In some implementations, the
OLED layer 410 can be coupled to the frontplate layer 406 by an
optically clear adhesive (OCA) layer 408. An optically clear
adhesive layer 404 can be applied to a front surface of the
frontplate layer 406 to couple the frontplate layer 406 to a cover
window film layer 402 that serves to protect the device on the
front side. In general, different adjacent discrete layers of the
device 400 can be joined by an adhesive material between the
adjacent materials. Adhesive material between an optical path from
the OLED emitters of the OLED layer 410 and user's eye are OCA.
In some implementations, the OLED layer 410 can be coupled to the
back stiffening layer 414 by an adhesive layer 412. In some
implementations, the OLED layer 410 can be directly deposited on
the back stiffening layer 414. In some implementations, the back
stiffening layer 414 can be coupled to a backplate layer 418, for
example, by an adhesive layer 416, or can be directly bonded to the
backplate layer 418. In some implementations, the back stiffening
layer 414 can be combined with the backplate layer 418 to form an
integrated a surface-stiffened backplate layer. As explained in
more detail below, the mechanical properties of the back stiffening
layer 414 and the frontplate layer 406 can be controlled to manage
the location of the neutral axis of a finished product that
incorporates the display device 400.
Because the thickness of each layer of the stack is important to
the overall thickness of the device 400, it is desirable to have a
relatively thin thickness for the layers. For example, in some
non-limiting examples, the thickness of the flexible OLED layer 410
can be on the order of approximately 50 .mu.m; the thickness of
frontplate layer 406 and the back stiffening layer 414 can be on
the order of approximately 50 .mu.m; the thickness of the optically
clear adhesive layers 404, 408, 412 can be on the order of
approximately 25 .mu.m; the thickness of the cover window layer 402
can be on the order of approximately 100 .mu.m; and the thickness
of the backplate layer can be on the order of approximately 25
.mu.m. Thus, an overall thickness of the device 400 can be on the
order of a millimeter and the device can have layers with
individual thicknesses that are fractions of a millimeter. In some
implementations, the overall thickness of the display device 400
can be less than one millimeter.
The components of the stack of the device 400 have different
as-fabricated properties, including stresses and strains that exist
in the components when the layer is fabricated. Additional stresses
and strains can be induced in the layers of the stack when the
display is bent into a configuration that is different from the
configuration in which the layer was fabricated. For example, if
the layer was flat when it was fabricated, then additional strain
can be induced by stretching or bending the layer, and if the layer
was fabricated in a curved configuration, then additional strain
can be induced by flattening the layer. If the bend-induced strain
exceeds a threshold value characteristic of a component of the
stack, the component can be damaged by the strain due to cracking,
buckling, delamination, etc. This characteristic damage threshold
strain may be different depending on temperature, humidity,
required cycle life, and other use and environmental factors.
Brittle inorganic layers of the stack can typically withstand less
strain than inorganic layers before they are damaged by the strain.
Nevertheless, organic materials in the stack also can be damaged by
excessive strain that is induced by bending.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a foldable display 500 having a
bendable section 501 (the curved portion shown in FIG. 5) that is
bent around a minimum radius, R.sub.min. The foldable display 500
can include an OLED layer 502 that includes components that
generate images on the display (emitted from the side of the
display that faces toward the inside of the bend), a high-modulus
back stiffening layer 504, a high-modulus frontplate layer 512, and
a cover window-polarization layer 514. The frontplate layer can be
coupled to the OLED layer 502 and to the cover window-polarization
layer 514 with OCA. The back stiffening layer 504 can be coupled to
the OLED layer with an adhesive, which does not need to be OCA. The
modulus of the layers 502, 504, 512 can be parameterized by the
Young's modulus of the layer. The modulus of the back stiffening
layer 504 and the frontplane layer 512 can be greater than then
modulus of the OLED layer 502. The display 500 can also include a
bend limit layer 520 that limits the radius at which the foldable
display 400 can bend to greater than or equal to the minimum
radius,
When the OLED layer 502 is fabricated in a flat configuration, then
bending the OLED layer 502 in the absence of the bend limit layer
520 may cause the bendable section to assume a radius less than the
minimum radius, R.sub.min, which may induce excessive strain within
the OLED layer 502. The OLED layer 502 can be characterized by a
plane 506 at which no strain is induced when the OLED layer 502 is
bent. This plane is referred to herein as the "neutral plane" 506.
When the OLED layer 502 is bent and the neutral plane is in the
middle of the OLED layer 502, compressive strain may be induced
along the inner radius of the bend, R.sub.inner, and tensile strain
will be induced along the outer radius of the bend,
R.sub.outer.
If the stack of materials and material thicknesses within the
device 500 is symmetrical about a midplane of the OLED layer 502,
then the neutral plane 506 corresponds to the midplane of the layer
502. However, different material properties (e.g., thickness,
Young's modulus, etc.) of different layers within the device 500
can cause the neutral plane 506 to be displaced above or below the
midplane of the OLED layer 502. For example, having a thick,
high-modulus layer on only one side of the OLED layer 502 will move
the neutral plane toward the high-modulus layer. The location of
the neutral plane within the device 500, along with the maximum
tolerable strain values of the materials within the layers of the
device 500, determines the minimum bend radius that can be
tolerated without causing damage to components within the device
500, especially fragile components in the OLED layer 502.
The bend limit layer 520 can be attached to the OLED layer 502 to
provide support for the OLED layer 502 and also can prevent the
OLED layer 502 from being bent around a radius that is smaller than
its minimum tolerable bend radius. In some implementations, the
functionality of the bend limit layer 520 can be combined in a
single layer with the functionality of the back stiffening layer
504. The bend limit layer 520 can be reinforced with materials
(e.g., reinforced with high-strength fibers) to provide strength
and support for the device. Materials in bend limit layer can have
a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) that is close to the CTE
of the OLED layer 502, so that the fragile components are not
unduly stressed by thermal cycling of the device 500. For example,
while many fiber materials have CTE's that are close to zero or
even negative, some ceramic fibers can have CTE's on the order of 8
ppm per Kelvin. Use of such fiber materials can improve thermal
expansion matching to a wide range of structures, including OLED
display layers. In some implementations, the CTE of the fibers can
be within about 50% of the CTE of the OLED display layer 502. In
some implementations, the CTE of the fibers can be within about 25%
of the CTE of the OLED display layer 502. In some implementations,
the CTE of the fibers can be within about 10% of the CTE of the
OLED display layer 502.
The bend limit layer 520 can be relatively flexible when it bent in
radii such that the radius of the inner portion of the OLED layer
502 is greater than R.sub.min and then can become stiff and
inflexible when the radius of the bend approaches, or matches,
R.sub.min. Stiffness can be parameterized by the change in bend
radius per unit of applied force that causes the foldable display
500 to bend. For example, in FIG. 6, when the display is folded in
half around a 180 degree bend, twice the radius of the bend is
shown by the parameter, x, when a force, F, is applied to bend the
foldable display. The stiffness of the foldable display 500 then
can be parameterized by the derivative, k=dF/dx. The strength of
the foldable display can be characterized as the maximum force, F,
that the foldable display 500 can withstand before failure of the
display occurs.
When the foldable display 500 is laid flat in its folded
configuration, it can be maintained in its folded configuration by
the force of gravity on the upper folded portion of the display,
such that zero additional force is needed to be applied to the
upper folded portion to maintain the foldable display in its flat
folded configuration, or, in other implementations, additional
force can be applied by external means such as latches, magnets,
etc. to maintain the display in its folded configuration. In this
configuration the radius of the bend can be defined as the limit
radius, R.sub.limit, i.e., the radius at which the back stiffening
layer 504 limits the further bending of the foldable display unless
additional external force is applied. To bend the foldable display
further from this configuration requires additional external force
to overcome the stiffness of the bend limit layer 520. Thus, an
example stiffness curve for a foldable display in which the limit
radius is reached with the foldable display is folded 180 degrees,
showing stiffness as a function of x is shown in FIG. 5.
It can be advantageous to have a foldable display with a stiffness
curve that exhibits a relatively sharp increase in stiffness once
the limit radius is reached, such that the foldable display can be
easily folded into its folded configuration in which R.sub.limit is
close to R.sub.min, and then the foldable display will become quite
stiff, such that it remains in this configuration despite forces
pressing it toward a radius smaller than R.sub.limit.
The bend limit layer 520 is shown on the outside of the bend in
FIG. 5, with the OLED-display layer 502 being disposed in the stack
toward the inside of the bend. However, the bend limit layer 520
also can be on the inside of the bend 501, for example, as shown in
FIG. 7, in which case OLED layer 502 is on the outside of the bend
and the content displayed by the display is on the outside of the
bend 501.
In some implementations (particularly when the OLED layer 502, the
CW layer 514 and the frontplate layer 512 are on the outside of the
bend 501), glass used in one or more of the layers 502, 512, 514
can be fabricated to avoid the glass forming sharp shards when the
glass is broken. For example, in one implementation, the glass used
in one or more of the layers 502, 512, 514 can be treated with
patterned ion-implantation (e.g., a grid pattern), so that when the
glass breaks it is more likely to break along, or between, the
pattern, thus avoiding sharp shards of glass.
The mechanical properties of the back stiffening layer 504, and the
frontplate layer 512 can be controlled, so as to maintain the
neutral plane 506 at, or close to the mid-plane of the fragile OLED
layer 502, so that the OLED layer 502 can tolerate relatively small
bend radii. Because other layers of the stack (e.g., the bend limit
layer 520, the CW-polarization layer 514, etc.) can affect the
location of the neutral plane 506 within the device 500, the
mechanical properties (e.g., the thicknesses, densities, material
composition, etc.) of the back stiffening layer 504 and the
frontplate layer 512 must be selected in relation to those of other
layers in the stack to maintain the neutral plane at or near the
midplane of the OLED layer 506. In some implementations, the
mechanical properties of the back stiffening layer 504, and the
frontplate layer 512 can be controlled, so as to maintain the
neutral plane 506 within the OLED layer. In some implementations,
the mechanical properties of the back stiffening layer 504, and the
frontplate layer 512 can be controlled, so as to maintain the
neutral plane 506 within the middle 50% of the OLED layer. In some
implementations, the mechanical properties of the back stiffening
layer 504, and the frontplate layer 512 can be controlled, so as to
maintain the neutral plane 506 within the middle 20% of the OLED
layer.
Referring again to FIG. 4, the back stiffening layer 414 or the
surface-stiffened backplate layer that includes the properties of
the back stiffening layer 414 can be opaque since light from the
OLED layer 410 does not need to be transmitted through it.
Therefore, the back stiffening layer 414 can be made using a large
variety of materials and processes. However, the frontplate layer
406 must be transparent, because light from the OLED layer 410 must
be transmitted through it. Ordinary plastic films are ill-suited as
materials for the frontplate layer 406, because their modulus is
relatively low, and transparent oxide thin films can be too
fragile. However, the frontplate layer 406 can be made from
high-modulus, transparent composites, such as, for example, the
glass-fiber and polymer materials disclosed Jin, J., et al.
"Rollable Transparent Glass-Fabric Reinforced Composite Substrate
for Flexible Devices," Adv. Mater. 22(40), 4510-4515 (2010), which
is incorporated herein by reference. Other high-modulus,
transparent materials, such as, for example, a thin glass layer
(e.g., about 30 .mu.m-50 .mu.m thick), which may include high
quality soda-lime or which may include ion-exchange strengthened
alumino-silicate.
Because the frontplate layer 406 can be covered and protected by
the CW-polarization layer 402, delicate materials of the
transparent frontplate layer 406 that rely on being clean and
defect-free to achieve the desired mechanical properties of the
frontplate layer 406 can be protected during system assembly and
end use. To additionally reduce surface damage and breakage during
frontplate layer lamination, the glass can be supplied in roll
format with a thin, adhesion-enhancing and protective polymer layer
already applied on each side.
FIG. 8A is a schematic diagram of an example implementation of a
bend limit layer 800. The bend limit layer 800 can include a
plurality of adjacent segments 802 that are each separated from
neighboring segments for R>R.sub.limit and that are in contact
with neighboring segments when R.ltoreq.R.sub.limit. Each segment
802 can have a base portion 804 that is attached to a thin film 806
and a head portion 808 that is wider in a direction parallel to the
plane of the bend limit layer 800 than the base portion 804. For
example, the thin film 806 can be bent in radii of less than 3 mm.
The thin film 806 has a thickness that is small compared with the
height of the segments 806 in a direction perpendicular to the thin
film 806. The stiffness of the thin film 806 is low, so that the
bend limit layer 800 is easily bent for radii R.gtoreq.R.sub.limit.
The thin film 806 can be bent in radii small enough to accommodate
the design parameters of the bend limit layer 800. In one
non-limiting example, the thin film 806 can have a thickness of
about 50 .mu.m and when bent into a radius of 2.5 mm can experience
a 1% strain. Of course, the thickness of the material can be
adjusted to trade off advantages between different parameters, for
example, the minimum radius of the thin film can be bent into, the
strength of the thin film, and the stiffness of the thin film.
One example material that could be used is the polyimide film known
as Kapton.RTM. HN available from DuPont in thicknesses of 7.6
.mu.m, 12.7 .mu.m, 25.4 .mu.m 50.8 .mu.m, etc. Another example
material that could be used is a thin metal foil. For example, a 12
.mu.m thick stainless steel foil has a strain of about 0.3% when
bend into a radius of 2 mm.
In the example implementation shown in FIG. 8A, the bond line
between the base portions 808 and the thin film 806 is covered by
50% of one surface of the thin film 806. In other words, half of
the surface of the thin film 806 is attached to base portions 804
of adjacent segments 802, and half of the surface is unattached.
Other configurations are also possible, in which the bond line
coverage is more or less than 50%. The portion of the thin film 806
that is bonded to the adjacent segments 802 is much stiffer than
the portions that are not bonded. This increases the stain in the
unbonded portions of thin film 806, and this increase must be
accounted for in the materials and geometry of the bend limit layer
800. With the head portions 808 being wider than the base portions
804, such that less than 100% of the thin film 806 is covered by
the base portions 808, the portions of the thin film 806 between
the base portions can flex and bend to allow the bend limit layer
800 to be bent to a small radius.
In some implementations, the base portions 804 of the adjacent
segments 802 are not bonded to the thin film 806 continuously in a
direction into the page, as shown in FIG. 8A, and base portions 804
of adjacent segments 802 are not bonded to the thin film 806 at
locations shown in the cross section of FIG. 8A. Rather, bonding
sites between the base portions 804 of adjacent segments 802 and
the thin film 806 can be offset in the direction into the page, as
shown in FIG. 8A.
FIG. 8B is a top view of the thin film showing a plurality of
bonding sites at which the film 806 is bonded to the base portions
804 of different adjacent segments 802. For example, a first group
830 of bonding sites 832, 834, 836 can bond the film 806 to a first
segment, whose footprint on the film 806 is shown by rectangle 830,
and a second group 840 of bonding sites 842, 844, 846 can bond the
film 806 to a second first segment, whose footprint on the film 806
is shown by rectangle 840. Because the bonding sites of adjacent
segments are offset from each other along the direction 850,
portions of the film 806 between adjacent segments that are not
directly bonded to the segments can flex relatively easily when the
bend limit film is bent into a small radius, as shown in FIG. 8A.
For example, the film between bonding sites 832 and 862 that is
under the second segment, whose footprint on the film 806 is shown
by rectangle 840, can flex when the bend limit film is bent, even
if the footprints 830 and 840 butt up against each other.
The head portion 808 of each segment 802 can have vertical sides
810 that, when the bend limit film 806 is flat, are not perfectly
perpendicular to the thin film 806, but rather that are angled
toward each other as they extend away from the thin film 806. Then,
when the bend limit layer 800 is bent into a radius equal to
R.sub.limit, the vertical sides 810 of adjacent segments 802 become
in intimate contact with, and parallel to, each other, so that they
form a rigid, rugged layer of material that has a high stiffness
for R.ltoreq.R.sub.limit. Some means of fabricating the head
portion 808 of each segment 802 may not have perfectly flat sides,
but instead have other surface geometries that also allow both
faces of adjacent segments 802 come in intimate contact with each
other, so that they form a rigid, rugged layer of material that has
a high stiffness for R.ltoreq.R.sub.limit.
The segments 802 can be formed from a number of different materials
including, for example, metals, polymers, glasses, and ceramics.
Individual blocks can be molded, machined, drawn (e.g., through a
shaped wire) and then attached to the thin film 806 at the correct
spacing. In another implementation, a plurality of adjacent
segments 802 can be formed simultaneously and then attached to the
thin film 806.
For example, as shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of adjacent segments
802 can be formed on a substrate 804, for example, by a single- or
multi-step molding process, and then, after the segments 802 are
bonded to the thin film 806, the substrate 804 can be broken,
dissolved, or otherwise removed from the segments 802. In another
implementation, the plurality of adjacent segments 802 can be
formed on a substrate 804, for example, by a lithography and
etching process, and then, after the segments 802 are bonded to the
thin film 806, the substrate 804 can be broken, dissolved, or
otherwise removed from the segments 802.
FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a rotating mold that can be used
in an example molding process for forming the adjacent segments
802. For example, slides 1, 2, 3, etc. can be inserted radially
into position with respect to a core pin, and then material can be
injected into the voids between the slides and the core pin to
simultaneously form the segments 802 and the thin film 806. As
segments 802 are formed, the assembly can be rotated
counter-clockwise and the slides can be removed in numerical order
to free segments 802 from the counter-clockwise-most position in
FIG. 9 while new segments are formed in positions clockwise from
the counter-clockwise-most position. By using transparent tooling
and an ultra-violet (UV) rapid-curing molding compound, high
production throughput can be achieved.
FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a mold 1102 that can be used for
forming adjacent segments 802 of a bend limit layer 800. The shape
of the mold 1102 can correspond to the shape of the bend limit
layer 800, when the bend limit layer is in its designed limit
radius configuration. Then, the adjacent segments 802 of the bend
limit layer 800 can be formed as a unified part within the mold
1102, however, with imperfections along the designed boundaries
1104 between adjacent segments 802. The imperfections then can
allow the unified part to be cracked along the designed boundaries
between the adjacent segments, so that after the bend limit layer
800 is removed from the mold 1102 and flattened the bend limit
layer 800 has the separated adjacent segments 802 shown in FIG. 8A,
but when the bend limit layer 800 is bent to its limit radius, the
adjacent segments form strong, rugged contacts to their adjacent
segments.
FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of another implementation of the
foldable display 1200, in which a bend limit layer 1202 is coupled
to a display layer 1204. The bend limit layers 1202 can include a
plurality of sublayers. The sublayers can include, for example an
outer layer 1206, a middle layer 1208, and an inner layer 1210. The
inner layer 1210 can include one or more fingers 1212 that extends
outward toward the outer layer 1206 and that, when the bend limit
layer 1202 is in a relaxed, unbent configuration, are each
horizontally separated by a gap 1214 in the plane of the layers
from a portion of the middle layer 1208 that is closest to the
middle of the bend into which the bend limit layer 1202 can be
bent. Two fingers 1212 and gaps 1214 are shown in FIG. 12, but any
number of fingers and corresponding gaps is possible.
The layers can be made of different materials. In one
implementation the inner and outer layers 1210, 1206 can be made of
an easily deformable, low stiffness metal, such as a nickel
titanium alloy (e.g., Nitinol), and the middle layer can be made of
a stiffer metal, such as stainless steel. The middle layer can be
thicker than the inner and outer layers.
FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of the foldable display 1200 when it
is in a bent configuration. As shown in FIG. 13, compressive strain
on the inner layer at the apex of the bend due to the bending of
the foldable display causes the gaps 1214 between the fingers 1212
of the inner layer and the middle layer to be closed. Thus, the
sections of the inner layer 1210 can act as leaves that move across
the inner layer in response to the compressive strain and that pull
their corresponding fingers with them. When the gaps 1214 are
closed, the stiffness of the bend limit layer 1202 increases, so
that further bending of the foldable display is restricted.
FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of another implementation of the
display 1400 in which a bend limit layer 1402 is coupled to a
display layer 1404. The bend limit layers 1402 can include a
plurality of sublayers. The sublayers can include, for example, an
outer skin layer 1406, a middle layer 1408, and an inner skin layer
1410. The layers can be made of different materials. In one
implementation, the inner and outer layers 1410, 1406 can be made
of very thin layer of a material with very high elongation (e.g.
Nitinol film), and the middle layer can be made of material whose
stiffness changes as a function of the bend radius of the foldable
display 1400.
FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of the foldable display 1400 when it
is in a bent configuration. As shown in FIG. 14, compressive strain
on the inner layer 1408 due to the bending of the foldable display
causes the stiffness of the middle layer 1408 to increase. This can
occur in a number of different ways. In one implementation, the
compressive strain on the inner layer 1410 and the middle layer
1408 causes the layers 1410, 1408 to deform inward toward the
center of the bend, and the deformation of the material can
increase the stiffness of the materials in the layers. In another
implementation, the compressive strain on the inner layer 1410 and
the middle layer 1408 causes a changes of state of an
electromechanical device (e.g., a piezoelectric device) 1412 within
at least one of the layers 1410, 1408.
In some implementations, electro-active material can be used in
middle layer 1408, where the stiffness of the electro-active
material can change in response to a voltage or current that is
applied to the material. The electro-active material can include,
for example, (1) ferroelectric-based materials (e.g.,
polyvinylidene fluoride-based ferroelectric citric polymer
materials), (2) ionic-based material (e.g., ionomeric polymer-metal
composites (e,g, Nafion or Flemion) or electroactive polymer gels),
(3) non-ionic based materials, (e.g., poly vinyl alcohol-based
materials); (4) carbon nanotube or conductive particles embedded in
a polymer matrix, and (5) conductive polymer based materials (e.g.,
Polypyrrole, Polyaniline, Polythiophene, Polyacetelene,
Poly-p-phenylene, Poly-phenylene vinylene. In some implementations,
the electro-active material can change its rheological properties
(such as storage modulus and/or loss modules) upon the application
of an electric field. In some cases, the storage modulus of the
material can be changed by more than 3 orders of magnitude by
applying an electric field of a few kilovolts per millimeter to the
material. In some cases, the form factor of the electro-active
material can be changed upon the application of a voltage to bend,
twist, expand, contract or shrink the material. The electric field
and/or current can be applied to the electro active material by a
dedicated electrode in the stack of the display device or by one or
more electronic elements present in other structures of the device
(e.g., electrodes in a touch layer of the device).
In some implementations, the compressive strain on the inner layer
1410 and the middle layer 1408 can cause a changes of state of an
electromechanical device (e.g., a piezoelectric device) 1412 within
at least one of the layers 1410, 1408, and a signal due to the
change of state can be used to cause a change in the stiffness of
the middle layer 1408. For example, an electrical signal from the
electromechanical device 1412 in response to the bend-induced
strain can trigger an electrical current or a voltage to be applied
to the materials in the middle layer, which, in turn, can cause a
change of state and stiffness of the material in the middle layer.
For example, the material can change from a liquid to a solid in
response to the applied current or voltage, or material can be
pumped into the bent portion of the middle layer, or the
orientation of particles of material can be rearranged in response
to the applied current or voltage to increase the stiffness of the
bent portion. Other modalities of changes to the stiffness of the
electro-active material in response to an applied electric field or
current are also possible.
FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of another implementation of the
foldable display 1600 in which a bend limit layer 1602 is coupled
to a display layer 1604. The content of the display can be
displayed on a surface of the display that is on the opposite side
of the foldable display 1600 from the bend limit layer 1602 (e.g.,
facing down, as shown in FIG. 16). The bend limit layer 1602 can
include a plurality of threads or fibers arranged across the layer
1602 in a plane and that, when the bend limit layer 1602 is in a
flat configuration, are arranged in a serpentine configuration, so
that the length of each fibers is longer than the straight
end-to-end distance in the plane between the ends of each fiber.
The fibers can be made of strong, low-stretch material, such as,
for example, fibers made from glass, Kevlar.RTM., graphite, carbon
fiber, ceramics, etc. and can be laid down in a low modulus
substrate. For example, the fibers can be laid down via a spread
tow technique in the desired pattern using specialized
manufacturing equipment. The fibers can be pinned at locations 1606
along their lengths to a layer of the foldable display, e.g., to a
substrate in the bend limit layer 1602 or to an surface at
interface between the bend limit layer 1602 and the display layer
1604. For example, the fibers can be pinned at nodes of the
serpentine configuration of the fibers. The pinning can be
performed by a number of different techniques. For example, a laser
heating process may bond the fibers at the pinning sites to the
layer, or the fibers can be mechanically bonded at the sites.
The fibers can limit the bend radius of the foldable display 1600
when the display is bent, when the bend limit layer 1602 is on the
outside of the bend and the display layer 1604 is on the inside of
the bend, because the fibers can become straight and limit the bend
radius of the foldable display when the desired minimum bend radius
is reached. In other words, the resistance of the bend limit layer
1602 to tensile strain in the layer is very low while the fibers
are unstretched and then becomes high when the fibers are stretched
to their full lengths. With the fibers bonded to material in the
bend limit layer 1602 at the pinning sites, a sudden increase in
stiffness of the bend limit layer occurs when the bending of the
bend limit layer 1602 causes the fibers to become straight between
adjacent pinning sites 1606.
FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a foldable display 1600 when the
display is in a bent configuration with the bend limit layer 1602
on the outside of the bend and with the display layer 1604 on the
inside of the bend. In this configuration, when the bend limit
layer is under tensile strain, the fibers can be become straight in
the curved plane of the bend limit layer 1602, and the end-to-end
distance, within the curved plane, of each fiber segment between
adjacent pinning sites 1606 can be close to, or the same as, the
length of each fiber between the adjacent pinning sites 1606. In
this configuration the strong, low-stretch fibers resist the
tensile strain on the bend limit layer, and thereby limit the bend
radius of the foldable display 1600.
FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of a foldable display device with a
bend limit layer having a patterned structure of materials that can
have a non-linear stiffness response to compressive forces caused
by bending of the bend limit layer.
In one implementation, the patterned structure can include an array
of ribs 1806 that extend away from the display layer 1804. As shown
in FIG. 18, the ribs 1806 can be rectangular shaped, but other
shapes are also possible. The ribs 1806 can be relatively rigid, in
that they have a high bulk modulus and a high shear modulus.
Therefore, the ribs 1806 retain their shape when the foldable
display 1800 is bent. The ribs can include a variety of different
rigid materials, including, for example, metals (e.g., aluminum,
copper, steel, etc.) ceramic materials, glass materials, etc.
Gaps or trenches 1808 between adjacent ribs 1806 can be partially
or fully filled with a second material that has a non-linear
stiffness response to compressive forces caused by bending of the
foldable display 1800. The material can include a foam (e.g., and
open cell foam), a gel, or other material whose bulk modulus
changes as a function of the compressive forces on the
material.
When the bend limit layer 1802 is in a relaxed, unbent
configuration, as shown in FIG. 18, the material in the gaps 1808
between the ribs 1806 can have a low bulk modulus and a low
stiffness. For example, in the relaxed unbent configuration, the
gaps 1808 can be filled with the non-linear stiffness material. The
distance between adjacent ribs at the distal ends of the ribs
(i.e., away from the display layer 1804) can be approximately equal
to the distance between adjacent ribs 1806 at the proximate ends of
the ribs (i.e. closest to the display layer 1804).
FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of the foldable display 1800 when it
is in a bent configuration. As shown in FIG. 19, compressive strain
at the interface of the display layer 1804 and the bend limit layer
1802 layer can cause the distance between adjacent ribs 1806 at the
proximate ends of the ribs to be less than when the bend limit
layer 1802 is in its relaxed, unbent configuration. In addition,
because of the bend of the bend limit layer 1802 and the non-zero
length of the ribs the distance between adjacent ribs at the distal
ends of the ribs 1806 is even shorter when the bend limit layer
1802 is in the bent configuration than when in the unbent
configuration. Consequently, the material in the in gaps or
trenches 1808 between the ribs 1806 is squeezed when the layer 1802
is bent. The squeezing of the material can cause a sudden increase
in the stiffness of the material when the radius of the bend
becomes less than a threshold radius. For example, in the case of
an open cell foam material in the gaps 1808 between the ribs 1806,
air can be squeezed of the cells when the material is compressed,
and when a critical amount of air has been squeezed from the
material when the radius reaches the threshold radius, then the
stiffness of the material can suddenly increase.
Although rectangular ribs 1806 are illustrated in FIGS. 18 and 19,
and rectangular gaps 1808 between the ribs 1806 are shown in FIG.
18, other shapes of both the ribs and the material in the gaps
between the ribs are possible. For example, as shown in FIG. 20A,
ribs 2002 can be generally T-shaped profile. In another example, as
shown in FIG. 20B, ribs 2004 can have a generally trapezoid-shaped
profile. In another example, as shown in FIG. 20C, ribs 2006 can
have a profile that is narrower in the middle than at the top and
the bottom of the ribs. In another example, as shown in FIG. 20D,
ribs 2008 can have a custom shaped profile that is configured, in
conjunction with the type and shape of the material in the gaps
between the ribs to accomplish a desired stiffness vs. bend radius
response.
Correspondingly, the shape of the materials in the gaps between the
ribs, which materials have a non-linear stiffness response to the
radius of curvature of the bend limit film, can have different
shapes. For example, FIGS. 21A, 21B, 21C, and 21D show rectangular
gaps between rectangular ribs 2102, but with the materials in the
gaps having different shapes in the different figures. For example,
as shown in FIG. 21A, the rectangular gaps can be filled with
non-linear stiffness response material 2104 that bulges above the
tops of the gaps when the bend limit layer is in its relaxed
configuration. In another example, as shown in FIG. 21A, the
rectangular gaps can be filled with non-linear stiffness response
material 2106 that precisely fills the rectangular gaps when the
bend limit layer is in its relaxed configuration. In another
example, as shown in FIG. 21C, the rectangular gaps can be filled
with non-linear stiffness response material 2108 that descends
below the tops of the gaps when the bend limit layer is in its
relaxed configuration. In another example, as shown in FIG. 21D,
the rectangular gaps can be filled with non-linear stiffness
response material 2110 along the sides and bottom of the gaps, but
on in the central portion of the gaps. The type and shape of the
material in the gaps between the ribs can be selected to accomplish
a desired stiffness response to the bend radius response of the
bend limit layer.
FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram of a foldable display 2200 having a
bendable section 2201 that is bent around a minimum radius,
R.sub.min. The foldable display 2200 can include an OLED layer 2202
that includes components (e.g., OLED layers, TFT layers, touch
screen layers, etc.) that generate images on the foldable display
and a bend limit layer 2204 that limits the radius at which the
foldable display 2200 can bend to greater than or equal to the
minimum radius, R.sub.min. The display 2200 also includes a
high-modulus back stiffening layer 2212 and a high-modulus
frontplate layer 2214. The bend limit layer 2204 can be coupled to
the OLED layer 2202 by a coupling layer 2203. The coupling layer
2203 can include, for example, an adhesive material or a bonding
material on respective surfaces that touch the OLED layer 2202 and
the bend limit layer 2204.
As described above, when the OLED layer 2202 is fabricated in a
flat configuration, bending the OLED layer 2202 induces compressive
strain along the inner radius of the bend, and tensile strain is
induced along the outer radius of the bend. It is desirable to keep
the neutral plane 2206 of the assembly, at which no stain occurs in
response to the bending, at, or close to, the plane in which
fragile and sensitive components of the assembly (e.g., TFTs)
exist. Thus, the coupling layer 2203 can include low modulus
material (e.g., rubber, gel, etc.), so that little strain within
the planes of the layers is transmitted between the OLED layer 2202
and the bend limit layer 2204. The display 2200 can include a
high-modulus back stiffening layer 2212 and/or a high-modulus
frontplate layer 2214 on the opposite sides of the OLED layer 2202
that function to maintain the neutral plane close to its designed
location within the OLED layer 2202 when the bend limit layer 2204
acts to limit the bend radius of the display 2200. For example, the
layers 2212, 2214 can have stiffnesses compensate for the effect of
the stiffness of the bend limit layer on the position of the
neutral plane, so that the neutral plane does not shift from its
designed location in the OLED layer 2202 when the OLED layer 2202
is coupled to the bend limit layer 2204.
The devices and apparatuses described herein can be included as
part of a computing device, that includes, for example, a processor
for executing instructions and a memory for storing the executable
instructions. Specific structural and functional details disclosed
herein are merely representative for purposes of describing example
embodiments. Example embodiments, however, be embodied in many
alternate forms and should not be construed as limited to only the
embodiments set forth herein.
It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc.
may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements
should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to
distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element
could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element
could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope
of example embodiments. As used herein, the term and/or includes
any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed
items.
It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being
connected or coupled to another element, it can be directly
connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements
may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as
being directly connected or directly coupled to another element,
there are no intervening elements present. Other words used to
describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in
a like fashion (e.g., between versus directly between, adjacent
versus directly adjacent, etc.).
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing
particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of
example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms a, an and
the are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood
that the terms comprises, comprising, includes and/or including,
when used herein, specify the presence of stated features,
integers, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but do not
preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,
integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups
thereof.
It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations,
the functions/acts noted may occur out of the order noted in the
figures. For example, two figures shown in succession may in fact
be executed concurrently or may sometimes be executed in the
reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and
scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly
understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which example
embodiments belong. It will be further understood that terms, e.g.,
those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted
as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the
context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an
idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined
herein.
It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar
terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities
and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities.
Unless specifically stated otherwise, or as is apparent from the
discussion, terms such as processing or computing or calculating or
determining of displaying or the like, refer to the action and
processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing
device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as
physical, electronic quantities within the computer system's
registers and memories into other data similarly represented as
physical quantities within the computer system memories or
registers or other such information storage, transmission or
display devices.
Lastly, it should also be noted that whilst the accompanying claims
set out particular combinations of features described herein, the
scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the particular
combinations hereafter claimed, but instead extends to encompass
any combination of features or embodiments herein disclosed
irrespective of whether or not that particular combination has been
specifically enumerated in the accompanying claims at this
time.
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